During a guest spot today on the ESPN 1100 Radiothon, a 24-hour fundraiser for The Caring Place cancer charity, UFC president Dana White said the organization will soon hold a major press conference, tentatively planned for July 31.

He referenced the media event when asked about reports of Affliction halting operations and becoming a UFC sponsor, the possibility of the UFC acquiring Affliction contracts, whether or not Fedor Emelianenko could be signed to the UFC, and whether a rumored deal with ESPN could come to fruition.

“We’re working on some big things,” White said without going into specifics. “It’s going to be a lot of crazy things. … There will be a laundry list of things addressed.”

On the show, White also confirmed that ESPN executive John Skipper, widely regarded as the “No. 2 guy” at the sports-media powerhouse, was in attendance at UFC 100.

Sources have told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that discussions have taken place regarding the possibility of ESPN airing live UFC shows at some point, though nothing appears definitive and official confirmation has been impossible to get. On the radio spot, White simply referred to the increased coverage ESPN can bring to its existing events, which air on pay-per-view and Spike TV.

“He got it,” White said of Skipper’s UFC 100 trip. “He saw the people. He saw the energy. All the things you get from the UFC live event, he felt, and that’s why we’re starting to get more coverage on ESPN.”

As for Emelianenko, who was slated to fight at the Aug. 1 “Affliction: Trilogy” event before its cancellation earlier today, White said he’s definitely interested in the fighter.

“My job is to put on the best fights with the best fighters and give fight fans the fights they want to see,” White said. “What I think … doesn’t matter. I’ve been trying to get this guy in the UFC. I want it because you (fans) want it.”

Additionally, if Emelianenko is signed, expect him in a championship bout immediately.

“He’ll fight for the title first,” White said.

Finally, as for Affliction, White remained tight-lipped and wouldn’t confirm today’s earlier report that the UFC would again allow the company to sponsor fighters (with the organization ceasing the promotion of MMA events).

However, he dropped a big hint.

“These guys are good at making clothes,” he said. “They’re not in the fight business. We are.”

Stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com for more on the latest UFC and Affliction news, and coverage of next week’s press conference.

The Latest

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?